1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ice cream novelties, and the like, and is directed more particularly to an assembly and method for forming a frozen confection portion of a frozen confection food product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ice cream novelties are generally well known and may comprise ice cream, supported by a stick, cup, or tubular container, or a combination of ice cream and an edible container, or support, such as a cone, one or more cookies, cake, and the like.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,357, issued Dec. 5, 2000, to Peter B. Franklin, there is shown and described one such product wherein an ice cream core is cradled in a U-shaped piece of cake. In products of this type it is customary to form the ice cream by freezing the ice cream in a mold, typically of stainless steel, and then removing the ice cream in frozen condition and combining the frozen ice cream with a support, either edible or non-edible.
Problems which have manifested themselves in this forming procedure include the fact that it is expensive and time-consuming to initially form solid, metal molds, and to continually sanitize them after each usage. Further, it is expensive to freeze the heavy, solid molds to create a frozen cavity in which to form the product. Further, removal of the frozen product from the mold can be problematic inasmuch as the frozen product is impinging upon the mold wall. The removal process typically requires the use of a stick, which is never removed from the product, making the process unusable for stickless, molded products. Still further, once the product is molded it must be placed into its final packaging configuration immediately, requiring the final assembly processes to be run at the same time the molding process is run. Because the molding and final assembly/packaging are linked, molding equipment is usually at or over capacity during summer months and underutilized during winter months, creating large industry inefficiencies.
There is thus a need for an assembly and method for forming frozen confection products which eliminate the aforementioned shortcomings of present systems.